Ramadan challenge

Food for thought

_Food /faith_
#savethedate

(Written by my friend U. Desai).

Asalamualaykum.

My dearest friends, imagine for a moment we were given the opportunity to go to a jewelry store and take how ever many diamonds, precious stones, gold and silver to our hearts desire within a 30 day time limit. Will any one of us pass up the opportunity? Never! Not a soul would dare to waste time in the jewelry store by having a braai, a party or get together let alone play uno cards and board games. We'll spend day and night taking what we can because we realize the worth of what we are running after.

Unfortunately our mindsets are wopped, when it comes to Deen. We fail to realize the importance and significance of time and obedience to Allah (swt).

The month of Ramadan cannot be compared to a jewelry store and its importance cannot be stressed upon. If we go a few months back and look at the amount of great ulama, hufaaz, brothers and sisters that we've lost we'll be surprised. Those that have passed away didn't think that Ramadan 1440 would be their last Ramadan. We too young /old have no guarantee when our time will be up. Let us try and make the most of this Mubarak month. Limit oneself with social media and unnecessary get-togethers which will most definitely weaken our imaan. Increase our amaal and try to control the nafs. Cut down when it comes to our eating habits. The blessed month of Ramadan is supposed to remind us of the less fortunate but instead we use Ramadan as an excuse to fill our stomachs more. There's no haraam in eating, but Nabi (S) ate in moderation. It is said that Nabi (saw) never ate to his full for three consecutive days.We are weak and cannot live up to that standard, but we can try to eat more simply.

What's so hard for us to sacrifice 1 month out of the 12 months in the year and leave out braais and parties, that reward us with lethargy , being unfit, sickness and lead us to ibaadah that's slacking.
Recently I met a lady at a voluntary service, a mother of four children who mentioned that she has to make different savouries to suit each one of her children, something different for her husband and her in laws.. I definitely admired her for her patience but honestly with so much work it must be hard for a person have time to sit on a musalla. Yes cooking is khidmat and a very important aspect of Deen but it shouldn't be done in such a way that a woman has no life in her to do any type of tilaawah, zikr or salaah.

If everybody can realize that Ramadan isn't an eating challenge it would relieve many.The pressure of excessive cooking will be eased up on mothers and wives and Our men folk would have a more peaceful tarawee, without sighing after every rakaah or getting distracted by hearing the next musalli burp his iftaar.

We all complain about our weight, ramadhaan is an excellent time to detox and lose a couple of pounds. One can incorporate our Sunnah foods and other interesting healthy, nourishing and energizing foods from other cultures into one's diet.

In the past and the times of our beloved Muhammad (saw) their healthy lifestyle was one of the secrets that allowed them to prosper and attain the ranks that they did.

Let us make a firm promise to practice upon the Sunnah. Make an effort in bringing more amaal into our lives. Have a set time for your ibaadah. One of the best ways to make the most of your ramadhaan is to plan ahead and make a time table. Keep in mind your goals, tasks and time for rest.

I hope and pray that every one of us make a sincere change. Let it not be that once our fancy "eid Mubarak,"messages go around on WhatsApp we go back to our old ways.

May Allah make it easy for us to withhold our nafs and may this ramadhaan be spiritually uplifting for us all. أمين.

Remember eat to live, don't live to eat.